Apple is expected to refresh its iPad lineup this year, and among the new models, users can also see an OLED iPad Pro before the Worldwide Developers Conference (WDC) in June. However, a new report suggests that Apple has cut down the orders of the OLED iPad Pro by 20-30%.
According to Aju Korea Daily, the number of orders is down to seven or eight million units from the expected 10 million. Citing the Korean publication, Trendforce said, “Reports suggest a potential 30% reduction in the estimated order volume, indicating Apple’s cautious outlook on the new product. It’s anticipated that suppliers in the supply chain such as LG Display (LGD), TSMC, Foxconn, and Novatek will also be affected.”
Last week, Korean publication, TheElec reported that the display production for the upcoming iPad Pro is already underway. “Samsung Display will begin production of the Apple iPad OLED 11-inch model this week…Following the 13-inch iPad OLED model TFT, LG Display is also expected to begin production of the 11-inch iPad OLED model TFT around the same time as Samsung Display,” the report said.
TheElec also added that the expected shipment date for the OLED iPad Pro is April 2024. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also believes that the entry-level to mid-range iPads will receive an update as early as March 2024.
The Mac and iPad together make up about 15% of Apple’s overall revenue and the lack of any new iPad models in 2023 only dropped the numbers for the Cupertino giant. It was the first year for the product category without any updates to any of the models.
“Mac sales tumbled 34% last quarter to $7.61 billion, while iPad revenue dropped 10% to $6.44 billion,” Gurman said in a December 2023 edition of his newsletter.
The upcoming new iPads could be Apple’s way out of the slump but with the cutdown in production, it seems that the company isn’t completely sold on its own idea.
Along with the OLED iPad Pro powered by the M3 chipsets, fans can also expect the upcoming iPad Air and iPad Mini to come with M2 and A16 Bionic chips, respectively.
As far as the upcoming Macs are concerned, Gurman said the M3 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models, together with the Mac Mini, will be available in 2024 and that the new Mac Studio is already under development.
